this morning, on the move again. >> within hours, another airport and part of new york's subways are set to finally reopen. but the big apple faces major gridlock and new power failures. another hospital evacuated, as generators go down. in new jersey, a presidential promise of help. devastated shore towns, where the danger isn't over. the smell and sound of natural gas lines fill the air. five days left. it is the final sprint as both presidential candidates return to the campaign. but how has sandy changed the race? and the video going viral you've got to see. a toddler in tears because she's just had it with the election.

good morning. i'm sunny hostin, in for paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson. good morning, everybody. we begin with the latest in sandy's aftermath. the storm is now being blamed for at least 74 deaths. more than 6 million people are without power, spread throughout 15 states. >> natural gas fires are burning in or threatening several communities, particularly in new jersey. and another airport, new york's la guardia, reopens today with limited service. >> inching towards normalcy. in new york this morning, more signs of life getting back to routine. the city's massive subway system is roaring back to life. except in hard-hit manhattan. >> more power is being restored to that area, as well. that's where we find abc's mark greenblatt once again this morning. good morning, mark. >> reporter: good morning to you. right now, the death toll from

hurricane sandy stands at a grisly 74. and over in new jersey, there's a looming threat ona and ongoine from ruptured natural gas lines. but in this neighborhood in lower manhattan, the lights are on for the first morning since sandy struck. the nation's largest public transit system will begin rolling again this morning, but with limited service. some tunnels and stations remain flooded. and power is still out in much of downtown. but the lights began to turn back on in some areas near wall street. still, subways won't run yet to the city's financial district. traffic clogged the streets as people returned to work. new york city mayor bloomberg announced only vehicles with three or more occupants will be allowed to enter manhattan between 6:00 a.m. and midnight. as new york rebounds, new jersey is struggling to recover. fleets of earth movers are clearing streets of sand and debris. and rescuers continue to help

those stranded by the storm. but residents are worried about gas leaks and the apparent shortage of gas crews to help shut down ruptured lines. >> where are all of the gas trucks? you got down the block. we got down the block. why can't we get gas trucks down the block? >> reporter: president obama toured some of the damage with governor chris christie. >> i can't thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state and the people of our state. >> i can promise you that the federal government will be working as closely as possible with the state and local officials. and we will not quit until this is done. >> reporter: and then, there was halloween. many towns decided to postpone it. but some were not deterred. on long island, superheros and cats were out. and in new york city, even with the power out, trick-or-treaters took to the street. and within just a few hours, all three of new york's major airports will be back online, with la guardia beginning at

least partial service at 7:00 a.m. this morning. rob? sunny? >> good news there, too. and in terms of the gridlock here in new york city. traffic very heavy as the mass transit system gets up and running. what about the scarcity of gasoline for commuters? >> reporter: that's a really big problem because everyone's trying to get into the city. and one of the things, they also need gas to get around and get back out. we're hearing reports of long lines at gasoline stations. sometimes stretching all around the block, where new york city police officers have to come out and direct traffic. sometimes these lines are lasting over an hour, we're hearing. >> mark greenblatt, live for us in lower manhattan. thanks, mark. also here in new york, the third major hospital evacuation of the week. this one involves about 600 patients at bellevue hospital. >> it is the oldest public hospital in the nation. and abc's cynthia mcfadden was there as patients were brought out. >> reporter: the word went out.

backup generators operating since monday night had failed. national guard troops called in to help carry out hundreds of patients from bellevue, one of the country's busiest. some patients having to be carried down from as high as the 18th floor. >> we have not experienced anything on this scale. >> reporter: emergency crews have been seriously pumping out of the hospital basement. deluge under 8 feet of water. the east river's right here on the other side of this building. this baby was born here a few days ago. what did they tell you? >> they have no lights. and everything is just wait. >> abc's cynthia mcfadden reporting. officials say even though 17 million gallons of water have been pumped out of the basement, the water is still more than two feet deep. >> that's incredible. and in the new york city borough of queens, a community simply in ruins. residents of the breezy point

neighborhood returned to their burned-out homes for the first time yesterday. 111 houses were scorched in that massive fire that swept through that neighborhood. the flames, being pushed by the strong winds of sandy. for some residents, as you can imagine, it was simply too much. >> it's ruined. i can't believe this place. we were down here. crazy. >> new york governor andrew cuomo got a firsthand look at the devastation yesterday. he promised the homes would be rebuilt. and we're seeing new images of the enormous destruction on staten island, another borough of the city. this man's house was twisted around and moved across the street by the floodwaters. he is vowing to rebuild. and on top of that, there's this jacuzzi which ended up in a tree. another testament to the true power of mother nature. >> my, my. firefighters in one of connecticut's wealthiest towns were powerless against a fire that struck three waterfront

mansions just as hurricane sandy blew ashore. listen to the power of the wind. greenwich firefighters were forced to retreat and then return later to fight the flames. >> the scope of this tragedy just keeps unfolding. it's amazing. >> it is. with that, let's take a look at weather from across the country on this thursday morning. a mix of sun and clouds in the northeast, with scattered showers from new england to the nation's capital. a chilly day around the great lakes. warming up, though, across the south. showers in the pacific northwest and northern rockies. >> 60s from billings to salt lake city. just 38 in fargo. and 43 in the twin cities. 50s in the midwest and northeast. mostly 80s from miami to dallas. when we come back this morning, a lab finds out what is lurking in that floodwater left in the wake of sandy. from what's in the water to where is the gas? drivers waiting in long lines for whatever they can get. also, the national guard

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gas lines are back in many of the areas where hurricane sandy struck. more than half of all gas stations around new york city and new jersey are closed because their tanks have been drained or they have no power. some drivers and homeowners are waiting more than an hour to

fill up or to fill up the gas cans they need to power the generators back at home. the human toll of hurricane sandy is impossible to measure. but we're starting to get a clearer picture of the financial costs. early estimates say the total could be $50 billion, maybe higher, with $30 billion of that in destroyed property and the rest in lost business activity. here's resourcefulness new york-style. these folks hit a bank and used the power to charge their cell phones. customers in the northeast are having trouble completing calls because of knocked out transmission sites. at&t and t-mobile announced plans to share their networks. contaminated water is a lingering danger after a storm like sandy. abc's medical editor, dr. richard besser, samped the floodwaters in lower manhattan and took it to a lab. their tests found gasoline and two types of bacteria that are

in sewage. anyone that comes in contact with floodwaters should wear gloves and boots. dr. besser visited one town where the water is contaminated after the power went out at a pumping station. it may be drinkable if you boil it for a full minute or purify it with unscented bleach. local officials will give you the best advice on how to proceed on that front. and one restaurant in downtown manhattan got innovative instead of losing all their meat because of the power failure. the old homestead moved on to the sidewalk and cooked expensive steaks at cut race prices. aer a serloin was going for 10 bucks. >> if they're still open, i know where i'm going after the show. when we come back, some of the other stories making news. with the race for the white house down to five days, the

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at this hour, sandy is being blamed for six deaths in west virginia where some people are digging out from three feet of snow. and they're expecting more today. the snow has weighed down power lines, knocking out power. crews are working around the clock to clear the roads. >> what did this storm not do? wow. here's a look at your morning road conditions across the country. it will be a slick ride from southern pennsylvania to west virginia and western maryland. wet at times from boston to d.c. and western new york. also showers dampen roads in the northern rockies and the pacific northwest. >> if you're flying, expect residual airport delays from sandy from boston, new york city, philadelphia and washington, d.c.

and good news to pass on to travelers this morning. new york's la guardia airport is reopening with limited service today. some subway lines will also begin running. but recovery is a lot slower in other areas. >> like hoboken, new jersey, where as many as 20,000 residents are still stranded in their flooded homes. 25% of the city is underwater. and now, that standing water is becoming contaminated. residents are patient but worried. >> it's scary. you don't know how long you're going to be stuck here. you don't know how you're going to get out of town. >> the national guard has been delivering ready-to-eat meals for stranded residents. others lucky enough to get to a store are finding prices jacked way up. >> the worst flooding in that city in two centuries. and while the storm's been dominating the headlines the past few days, there's been this other issue of time running out in the presidential campaigns. >> the election is only five days away.

and today, both candidates are focusing on the home stretch. abc's tahman bradley shows us how. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning to you, sunny. good morning to you, rob. president obama has had to focus his attention to the federal government's response to superstorm sandy. leaving the campaign trail to surrogates. but today, he's back for the final sprint. the action picks up again with both candidates on the trail. president obama visits wisconsin, nevada and colorado for the first campaign since sandy hit. >> we can't go on the road we're on. we can't change course in america if we keep on attacking each other. we've got to come together and get america on track again. >> reporter: the race is still a dead-heat. the daily abc news/"washington post" tracking poll show the candidates tied among likely voters at 49%. the same poll found president obama's response to the superstorm positively. 78% say mr. obama's handling the

situation excellent or good. the president toured storm-ravaged new jersey with republican governor chris christie. >> hang in there. >> reporter: the governor, usually one of the president's harshest critics had nothing but find words for him. >> he's worked closely with me. and i can't thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state and the people of our state. >> reporter: both the romney and obama campaigns think they're winning. the obama campaign points to the president leading or tied with romney in the eight closest battlegrounds. while the romney campaign says the president's playing defense in michigan, pennsylvania and minnesota, democratic turf. rob and sunny? >> at this point, no one really knows. five days and counting. tahman bradley, live in washington. thanks, tahman. and more than 1,000 people around louisville, kentucky, have spent the night out of their homes. they were forced to evacuate when fire erupted at the site of a train derailment. 11 cars went off the tracks monday, leaking a

highly-flammable chemical. three cleanup workers were hurt in that incident. and look at this. smugglers came up with an innovative way to sneak across the border. but it did not work as planned. instead of using an underground tunnel, they tried to cross over from mexico to arizona by driving across a makeshift ramp. as you can see, they abandoned that plan, leaving their jeep struck on the 14-foot-high border fence. >> that wasn't a good plan. >> no. better luck next time, fellas. in san francisco, thousands of people came together to celebrate their world series champions, san francisco giants. the city's victory party coincided with halloween, allowing fans to dress for both occasions. not everything went smoothly, though. the rolls-royce carrying the team's manager, yes, ran out of gas. so, fans had to bush the car to the rally downtown. >> a better week to be on the west coast than east coast. >> clearly. >> that's for sure. coming up next this morning, "the pulse." and the little girl driven to

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two delicious crisps. for 100 calories. so you'll never have to break up with your sweet tooth again. what will you gain when you lose? after a few days off for sandy coverage, of course, "the pulse" is back this morning. the stories you'll be talking about today. >> as we mentioned, just five days until the election. the candidates, as we know, have been at it for months. >> seems like decades. so, maybe it takes a 4-year-old from colorado to sum up what millions of us have, no doubt, been thinking for quite a while. listen close. >> i'm tired of barack obama and

mitt romney. >> that's why you're crying? oh. it will be over soon, abbie. okay? the election will be over soon, okay? >> okay. >> oh. >> another undecided voter. little abigail evans of ft. collins, colorado, right there. mom says her meltdown happened after listening to a political report on npr. >> the folks at npr issued a written apology, contending that the election season has gone on for them. >> hang in there. five days. we're tired, too. ellen and sofia vergara share those ads for cover girl. so, maybe it's natural on halloween that ellen dressed as the "modern family" star, in that dress, with a padded back end, i'd say. >> it was a dead-on impersonation, down to the

wardrobe malfunction from emmy nights. and the two cover girls went dancing away. look at that. >> i have no problem with that whatsoever. costume to get your hands around. and here on abc, jimmy kimmel brought a little more late-night comic relief to some new yorkers. we needed it. >> the brooklyn native is back in his hometown to do his show this week. and it's about to let hurricane sandy bounce with laughs. >> i want you to be honest with me. how many of you are here for the electricity? some of the damage that i've been seeing on local news is unbelievable. especially in new jersey. some parts of new jersey have been so completely rearranged that apple maps is now actually right. [ laughter ] >> that's so true. good to have you home, jimmy. have fun in your hometown. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be back with the heroes making sure the hurricane at least has a fe.

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updating the top stories. signs that new york city is beginning to bounce back from the superstorm. there most of the bay area waking up to wet skies. we are tracking the rain we'll talk about a warmer weekend. following breaking news, several people shot overnight at a california campus. police combing home video to catch the suspects who torched the muni bus after the giants won the world series. plus your morning commute with degrees colder than normal around the great lakes. and also have scatters here in the northeast. finally this morning, a tribute to all those who helped us weather the storm. >> abc's david muir has this

gallery of people who came through when it counted the most. >> reporter: new mom, julia, her husband, duran, and their new baby, micah, letting us know today, they're okay. >> hey, david. as you can see, we're doing great. really happy. >> reporter: and like so many people, they wanted just one thing. to say thank you. to the quiet samaritans, the nurses, who simply were doing their jobs and became the real heroes of the hurricane. julia was in labor, having contractions inside that new york hospital that went dark, lost power when the generators gave out. desperate for an epidural in the darkness, her husband held a cell phone light as nurses went to work. >> so, i was standing -- it was one of those flip -- like, a flip cell phone, one of those old ones. and i was just holding it above her while she was putting in the i.v., kind of making sure there was enough light for the doctors behind her. >> reporter: they were rushed out of the hospital, taken away in an ambulance. driving the ambulance was a worker that came from california. when they said they were headed to mt. sinai hospital, he said, how do you get there? and while navigating the

streets, part of a tree came crashing down on the ambulance. they got there. and 40 minutes later, baby micah was born. so, how is micah? >> oh, he's beautiful. he's awesome. >> reporter: there are so many families like them, touched by the kindness, the bravery of others. >> there's no words i have to thank them for what they did for us. >> reporter: this mom and dad and their baby, just six hours old, were also carried out of that darkened hospital. >> pretty amazing. we saw them just dripping with sweat and carrying women that couldn't walk down the stairs. >> reporter: you were the welcoming committee. >> that's right. >> reporter: this was the team waiting at lennox hill hospital, taking in patients. >> there's no practice for this, never. >> reporter: no practice, but perseverance and pride in what they were doing in those dark hours. happy ending, right? >> absolutely. it's all about passion. >> reporter: passion from those who helped. and parents who are forever grateful. david muir, abc news, new york. >> every tragedy has its heroes. >> absolutely. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." have a gat